Blair 'unaware' of WMD threat

LE

Tony Blair has said he was unaware the 45 minute claim over Iraq's WMD meant only battlefield weapons when he urged MPs to vote for war in March last year.
His comments came during a Commons debate on the Hutton report as a former intelligence official said information may have been "misinterpreted".

The September 2002 dossier said Iraq could deploy chemical and biological weapons within 45 minutes.

The Hutton inquiry was told the claim referred only to battlefield weapons.

But Mr Blair stood by his decision to join the US in invading Iraq, and emphasised to MPs that the Hutton report had cleared the government of "sexing up" its Iraq dossier.

And he called the BBC report which sparked the Hutton inquiry "100% wrong".

LE

It really is incredible that the Prime Minister didn't know whether these weapons, on the basis of whose existence he went to war, were a threat to UK assets or not. It is even more incredible that the Sec of State for Defence only knew that they were battlefield weapons because he asked 'out of curiosity'.

ADC

All of us bobbing around the "Littoral" in the Northern Arabian Gulf February/March/April last year knew what was meant by weapons being deployable in 45 minutes.

We weren't worried about the folks back home, just worried about getting those bottles you need to drink through while wearing a S10 before the excrement hit the air conditioning. More concerned about our own arrses. The threat was local.

Bliar.

When they turn the pages of history,
When these days have passed long ago,
Will they read of us with sadness
For the seeds that we let grow?